Mary Allen
I think the term “collective intelligence” is a gross exaggeration of our entomological colleagues. What is meant by this is that in the case of individuals such as ants or bees, for example, the whole state brings about miracles – i.e. individuals who, compared to mammals, do not exactly provide a paragon of intelligence.
One should not overlook the fact that the insect structures or the forms of organization of the insects come about through relatively simple rules of interaction, i.e. have nothing to do with intelligence.
I, therefore, consider this term to be misleading. I wouldn’t say absurd, but misleading.
Individual ants have tiny brains but together the many ants of a colony can exhibit remarkable ‘intelligence’. Ants exhibit complex and apparently intelligent behavior; they can navigate over long distances, find food and communicate, avoid predators, care for their young, etc.
Are ants more intelligent than humans?
An ant’s brain has 250,000 neurons. Human brains, by comparison, have more than 100 billion brain cells. Despite the relative smallness of an ant’s brain in comparison to humans, scientists consider the ant to have the largest brain of all insects.
What is an ant IQ?
Are ants aware of humans?
Can Ants Sense Humans? The answer is no, ants cannot sense when a human is around – they don’t have any sensory organs for detecting heat/cold and their eyes are too simple to see much more than light and darkness.
Do ants have thoughts?
Ants brains are smaller and simpler than our own, but the collective hive mind of the colony could have feelings. Ants don’t have complex emotions such as love, anger, or empathy, but they do approach things they find pleasant and avoid the unpleasant.